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Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their Remedies

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 i

D IMENSIONS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS

Editor
Arvind Kumar
Environmental Biology Research Unit
Post Graduate Department of Zoology
S.K. University, Dumka - 814 101

2003
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Delhi - 110 035
 iv

© 2003 Editor
ISBN 81-7035-305-X

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 49
SOME IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS IN INDIA AND
THEIR REMEDIES
Y.C. Tripathi and G. Tripathi

ABSTRACT
Indian environment has been deteriorated remarkably in the past 50 years due to rapid
decline in natural resources and severe increase in pollution level. Depletion of forests, population
growth, vehiculer emissions, use of hazardous chemicals and various other undesirable human
activities are mainly responsible for this degraded scenario of environmental health in India. It
is, in fact, rendering considerable economic loss to the country and warrants serious attention of
policymakers, administraters, scientists and people altogether to save the environment and
humanity and to provide generational equity. The present paper deals with the threat of
environmental degradation and suggests some possible remedial measures for eco-conservation
in India. Now it is essentially advisable to become protector, producer and caretaker of natural
resources and not the predator, polluter and consumer of earth.

Introduction
India has completed fifty years of its independence full of covetable success scored through
unflagging commitments and relentless efforts of the people and the government in social, economic,
scientific and technological areas. A nation which failed to manufacture even a needle in 1947 is
furiously engaged in churning out space-crafts and rockets and exploiting nuclear devices for peaceful
purpose. During the past five decades India’s achievement in science and technology seem to be
very impressive which would reveal expertise built up in space research, nuclear engineering,
production of steel, fertilizer, petroleum, chemical, machine tools, construction of big dams etc.
Miraculous achievement has been made in the agricultural production through Green Revolution
during last three decades, which converted India of the fifties, as an importer of food grain to that of
an exporter. The technological advancement in agriculture is brought about through the increased
production of new high yielding varieties of crops by means of the application of chemical fertilizers
Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their Remedies 377

and pesticides. Bringing more land under food crops for the ever increasing population has no
doubt saved mankind from hunger and pestilance. On the other hand various developmental activities
such as construction of huge dams, establishment of power plants and industrial units have changed
the man-nature relationship. They have changed not only the economic and socio-cultural life of the
people but also their values, systems, ideas, beliefs and indeed their entire life style. Destruction of
more forests for extension of land for agricultural purpose, for making buildings, roads and other
constructions has led to the extinction of a number of plant and animal species and is also responsible
of ecological imbalance. Apart from these, the indiscriminate disturbance of the forest ecosystem
leads to the disturbance in corresponding recycling system. The storm of modernisation and
industrialization has not only uprooted man but in fact has destroyed his habitat and environment.
The increase in the discharge of toxic gases from the industrial units and carbon dioxide liberated
from animals and human beings and from burning of fossil fuels is as sharp as decrease in release of
oxygen by the trees and plants as a result of which the biospeheric equilibrium maintained since
time immemorial has been affected.
Today, the environmental pollution is a growing threat to our country and has become a common
phenomenon being observed both in towns and villages all over India. The heavy rush of population
from villages to urban areas has resulted in over-crowding of cities. Rapid industrialization and
urbanization have led to an increase in pollution particularly in metropolitan cities. About 72 per
cent of the air pollution is due to vehicular emissions which is responsible for 12 times high risk for
respiratory problems. In Delhi about 12 per cent of the school children are suffering from asthma.
More than 2000 crore litres of sewage water and about 5000 metric tonnes of garbage are produced
per day in the urban areas which are polluting the surface and groundwater resources. Ganga, the
most sacred river and a symbol of India’s age old culture and civilization, has become the most
polluted cultural river in the world. Industrial effluents containing various pollutants (particularly
toxic metals and pesticidal residues) are drained to nearby lands and decrease the soil fertility (Singh,
1989). Plant bodies steadily accumulate these toxic substances in different parts (Ray, 1990) and thus
affect human health. The metropolitan cities of India are considered as noisiest in the world due to
lack of proper sound control system in our manufacturing plant and automobiles and also due to
blasting of high sounding horns. Our industrialisation, mechanisation and vehicles have raised the
level of noise in metro cities. According to a survey conducted by All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi, the average noise level in India’s metropolitan cities is more than the prescribed
international limit. Noise level above 100 decibel will be unbearable and injurious to various organs
of man such as brain, heart and eardrum. The terrific sonic booms of super sonic jet planes not only
rattle window glasses and fencing walls but also affect heart beating, hearing organs, liver functioning,
brain, eye etc.

Population Growth and Pollution

The pressure of population on the environment has become more acute during past few decades.
About 34 million people in 1947, the time of independence have swelled up to 86 million in 1991 and
is likely to cross 100 million mark by the turn of this century and more than 200 crore by 2035 (Patel,
1994). An unbelievable bitter truth is that Indian population explosion adds an Australia to the
country every year. Concentration of people in the urban areas which are already polluted is becoming
heavier. The hard pressed economic necessities have overlooked environmental aspect altogether.
In our metropolitan cities where there is heavy concentration of people, the water resource is deeply
polluted because of lavatory refuse, waste-bin refuse and washing soap refuse. Inspite of all out
efforts to curb it, the increase continues nearly unabated because of socio-religious factors.
378 Dimensions of Environmental Threats

Rapid increase in population and mismanagement have caused a severe decline in our natural
resources between 1947 to 1997. The availability of fresh water has declined by two thirds. Soil
degradation has increased to almost 800 lakh hectare spelling doom for agricultural productivity.
The livestock grazing in the forests has increased 3-times the desirable level and the cultivated land
per capita has become half as a result of population explosion. Over exploitation of groundwater is
an acute problem in the agriculturally important districts. Class I and Class II cities of India are
generating enormous amount of sewage wastewater per day, but treat only a tenth. The total sewage
generation from urban centres has grown 6-times in the last 50 years. The water requirement of
major water-consuming industries has increased 40-times, but they are not treating the huge
wastewater generation from their own. Production of municipal solid waste has grown 7-times
while their collection, transport and disposal oftenly remain unscientific and hazardous. Indoor and
outdoor air pollution have caused about 2.5 million pre-mature deaths since Independence.

Denudation of Forests
In spite of the target of having 100 million hectare of forest area i.e. 33 per cent of the total
geographical area of the country as specified by the Forest Policy Resolutions, 1952, our forests
continue to shrink which results in yet another problem of the short supply of fuel wood and fodder
in rural India. The requirement of fuel wood, according to the report of National Commission on
Agriculture, is about 22 millions cubic meters at turn of 2000 A.D., while the expected output of fuel
wood would be one third of the requirement. During the last four decades of freedom the greatest
denudation of forests has been experienced. As the human and cattle population grew, forest areas
have been cleared for agricultural and other household purposes. Again, railways, roadways etc.,
have expanded their network. Dams, projects, bridges and several other institutions have been
constructed thereby decreasing the forest areas. At the rate of deforestation of 2.5 hectare of forest
per minute, India will become a Sahara desert within 50-100 years.

Land Degradation
Uncontrolled deforestation, intensive irrigation and mining activities are the major cause of
land degradation. Deforestation on a massive scale has resulted in an unmanageable fast flow of
water from upstream areas. The eroded soil has led to siltation of rivers which naturally have over-
flown their banks with roaring speed. It has been estimated that about 23 billion tonnes of soil are
lost every year. The Thar desert is expanding at the rate of one km per year. Drought-prone areas
have been ever expanding, as a result, some of the districts in U.P. like Tehri and Uttarkashi, Bankura
in West Bengal and large areas of Rajasthan fell to acute scarcity of water. Lakes, rivers and streams
are drying day by day. The water area of Chilka (Orissa) has been reduced from 1165 sq km to 900 sq
km. Loktak lake, the largest freshwater inland lake, has been reduced from 495 sq km to 390 sq km
in ten years causing a serious ecological problem in Kashmir valley. The defective drainage system
and encroachment on Dal Lake and the closure of the Nallah are hindering the flood channel linking
the Dal with the Jhelum. Soil erosion is a natural process and is as old as the earth. But today it has
increased to the point where it far exceeds the natural formation of new soil. In the face of continuously
expanding the demand for agricultural products and increase in pressure on land, soil erosion is
accelerating. Indeed the agricultural land is losing its productive top soil 20 to 40 times faster than
soil naturally can reform in thousands of years.

Green House Effect

The green house effect is one of the most hotly debated environmental issues of the current
world. With the increase in green house gases (carbon-dioxide, water vapour, Methane,
Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their Remedies 379

chlorofluorocarbons etc.) in the atmosphere, the average temperature of earth has been rising slowly
but steadily. The adverse physiological effect of double atmospheric CO 2 on climate have been
described by Sellers et al. (1996). If the present trend is allowed to continue as usual, the global
temperature in 2050 may rise as high as 3.5 degree celsius above the pre-industrial level which is
well above the ceiling of tolerability (Kelley, 1990) and snow covered mountains melt into water
thereby rising the sea level by several kilometers. Rapid climatic change in tropical Atlantic region
also occurred during last deglaciation (Overpeck et al., 1996). Recently, a bio-molecular model for
environmental adaptations in animals have been proposed in order to cope up with the rapid climatic
change in environment (Tripathi, 1997). Deforestation indirectly increases the amount of carbon-
dioxide thereby increasing the atmospheric temperature. India is the world’s six biggest producer of
CO2. The average climate of the Indian plain would become hotter and drier which would affect the
agricultural yield due to increased weed infestations and insect attack (Das, 1991). Industrial and
vehicular emissions have contributed their own share of harmful effects to the environment.
Acidification is a common problem in the industrialised countries. In India, vehicles contribute
more than 30 per cent of the photochemical smog in the atmosphere. The major cities of the country
have an average of more than 15,00,000 vehicles each. More than 2.5 million different types of vehicles
are running in our capital Delhi. The use of chlorofluorocarbon in refrigeration units and
organochlorine pesticides in agriculture are causing severe damages to the environment. These
chemicals liberate chlorine which enters into stratosphere region of the atmosphere and diminishes
the volume of ozone allowing more ultraviolet rays of the sun to penetrate into the atmosphere
which is very harmful to the human health. The total emission and pollution of sulphur dioxide in
India is estimated to be more than 4 million tonnes because of tremendous increase of vehicles of all
kinds. As a result, some of the oldest and rarest architectural, cultural and historical monuments
and structures have been affected, corroded and mutilated. On 11th Dec., 1997, the delegates from
159 nations attending the “World Climatic Conference” in Kyoto (Japan) reached on an agreement
that the industrialized nations (38 developed countries) will reduce their average annual emission
of six greenhouse gases by 5.2 per cent from 1990 levels between the year 2008 and 2012. However,
India didn’t give any binding commitment in the conference to reduce the emission of greenhouse
gases due to its poor economy and a high population pressure.

Hazards of Chemical Abuse

Pesticides are the most important factor in improving agricultural production particularly in
developing countries to sustain the greater supply of food, necessary to feed their growing population.
Amount of hazardous chemicals used in India is very high. The average per hectare pesticide
consumption has increased remarkably during the last three decades (Gupta, 1988). Less than 0.1
per cent pesticides reach the target pest and remainder negatively affect humans, livestock and
natural biota. This tendency to look at only higher production neglecting the hazardous consequences
of ecological disturbance has led to severe environmental degradation arising from their use.
Indiscriminate and heavy use of pesticides has contaminated the food grains, dairy products, fruits,
vegetables, fodders, horticulture land, drinking water and the living environment as a whole
(Mehrotra, 1983). Aquatic living species die as the pesticides washed down from the fields to rivers,
tanks and other water reservoirs. Cosmetic pesticides are sprayed indiscriminately on fruits and
vegetables in major cities of India to improve the look e.g., methyl parathion on cauliflower gives an
extra white look, lady fingers dipped in copper sulphate to look greener. Majority of synthetic
pesticides are not easily degradable and tend to enter food chains. They spread their toxic effect
through ecological cycling and biological magnification and cause serious health problems in human
380 Dimensions of Environmental Threats

and animal subjects. Organochlorine and organophosphorous compounds are presently

predominating in use. The former is stable under various environmental conditions. Chrolorinated
pesticides are the most prevalent toxicants in the Indian environment. The environmental half life of
such chemicals reported to be ten years or more (Brooks, 1976). Use of these pesticides has either
been banned or discouraged in developed countries as they create several environmental and health
hazards. Liver and kidney damages are observed in long exposure to organochlorine pesticides
whereas organophosphorous toxicity results decline of memory (Korsak & Sato, 1977), loss of appetite,
tremors and psychic disorders and paralysis in exceptional cases. They may even result in mutation
of genes and these changes become prominent only after a few generations. In the most natural
situation, the plants, animals and micro-organisms of the soil are absolutely essential for its fertility.
The soil contains micro-organisms that are responsible for the conversion of nitrogen, phosphorous
and sulphur to the forms available for plants. Recognizing the fact that most of the complex physical
and chemical processes responsible for soil fertility are dependent on soil microorganisms, the
environmental biologists are opposed to the continuing treatment of soil with heavy doses of deadly
and persistent toxicants. Sometimes our agricultural products are rejected in international market
due to high pesticidal content. Import of banned and carcinogenic pesticides and toxic wastes
including lead, zinc and aluminium ash, plastic scrap and slag, at the rate of more than 60,000
metric tonnes per year still continues from developed countries at a cheaper rate. Under this alarming
situation, Hon’ble Supreme Court of India have issued some directives on the import of hazardous
wastes and to restrict the use of pesticides in Indian environment.

Remedial Measures
Environmental protection vis-a-vis development is a great challenge we face today. Conditions
like population growth, poverty, unemployment and under development supplemented by the
negative effects of badly planned development over the last five decades have landed us today in a
vicious circle. Implication of some regulatory measures may control vehicular and industrial
emissions. It should be checked strictly whether factories and industrial units did not violate the
standards set by various relevant acts and laws. There is also a need to introduce eco-friendly refineries
and eco-friendly thermal power plants to reduce pollution in the localities.
In addition to a direct control of the population growth, there is a need to provide health care,
improve female literacy, sex education, job opportunities for woman and above all to motivate priest
and religious preachers to induce people to take up family planning. Involvement of voluntary
organization in social education and effective communication for promoting contraceptive methods
may also be effective in this mission.
Some important protective measures should be taken up for the conservation of forests and
wildlife in India. Forest areas may be maintained for certain objectives like, protection of mountain
slopes and catchment areas, protection against wind blown sand and erosion and ravine formation,
protection for pastures, roadside avenue, aesthetic value and recreation. In order to conserve wildlife,
programmes like creation of more national parks, sanctauries and reserved areas should be
encouraged. Better forest protection and management can improve agriculture, flood control,
irrigation and power and prevent silting of lakes and reservoirs.
To meet the food demand for growing population, rise is agricultural production is of utmost
importance and hence pesticides are indispensable. The use of pesticides should be managed in
such away that it will not pose any threat to the environment and human life. The problem of
hazardous consequences of the use of chemical pesticides for controlling pest and diseases can be
Some Important Environmental Problems in India and Their Remedies 381

solved effectively by developing and practising plant based pesticides. A large number of different
plant species contain natural insecticidal material. Some of these have been used by man as insecticide
since very early times. There are around 600 plant species from all over the world which have been
found to exhibit biocidal activity and some of the plant products have been recommended for the
control of pest and diseases of various agricultural, horticultural, fruit and other economical crops.
The easy availability, biodegradability, non-toxicity to living beings, eco-friendliness and broad
spectrum activity of plant based pesticides provide an eco-friendly approach for effective pest control.
Botanical pesticides have the potential to replace chemical pesticides and are good hope for healthier
environment in future. Biological control is a fundamental ecological process, although the use of
biological regulators in the control of plant pathogens is still poorly understood and deserve a
thorough evaluation before it is optimised in agricultural practices. All the same, biological agents
can offer non-polluting solutions to recalcitrant problems in agriculture, when poorly utilized (Ford,
1992). Organic waste management for manure production and establishment of biogas units to
generate energy will be very promising in reducing environmental pollution. The discharge of
pesticide waste residues and other toxicants, which contribute to environmental pollution subsequent
to their water run-offs from crops, can be degraded by genetically engineered microorganisms.
Popularizing the vermiculture technology for managing organic waste resources will be very effective
in creating a sustainable environment in India (Tripathi et al., 1995).
The main hurdle confronting the environmental protection in India today is that there is a lack
of scientific knowledge and desire to act in this direction. The NCERT has prepared and developed
syllabi, textbooks and other necessary materials in conformity with the new education policy to
emphasize the environmental considerations. UGC has initiated research projects to further promote
environment education in universities. Forestry as a subject has been taught for the past few years in
eight agricultural universities. On the initiative of Ministry of Environment and Forest topics like
pollution control, soil degradation, wildlife management, meteorology, jhoom cultivation have been
introduced in formal education.
A great national effort has been directed towards environmental awareness through the
enactment of various Acts viz., National Forest Policy, 1952; National Committee on Environmental
Planning and Coordination, 1972; Water Pollution Control Act, 1974; Wildlife Protection Act, 1974;
Forest Conservation Act, 1980; Prevention and Control of Air Pollution Act, 1981; Environmental
Protection Act, 1986 etc. Unfortunately due to lack of proper implementation of all these policies as
well as strict enforcement of acts, the degradation of forest and environment continues unchecked.
For the survival of rapidly growing population we have to ensure conservation of resources on
scientific lines to provide food, clothing and shelter for our millions. We have to plan our development
efforts in such away that a harmonious balance is maintained between man and his environment.
Any process of planning should be based on the principle of Development without Destruction.
Social workers and environmentalists should create public opinion and mobilise corrective and
preventive action against this threat. The society and all concerned need to be convinced of the
importance of the environment and we have to realize the fact that the way how to live today will
influence tomorrow.
References
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 382 Dimensions of Environmental Threats

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